The present invention relates to a musical device in which a sound producing body is struck by a swinging member. In particular, the present invention relates to a musical device in which the swinging member is free to recoil upon impact with the sound producing body so as to permit undamped sound generation.
In recent years various sound producing toys have been proposed. One example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,236 (Nakada et al.). In one embodiment of the Nakada patent, the musical toy includes a case housing a pair of permanent magnets, and two swinging assemblies are pivotably mounted to the case in close proximity to the permanent magnets. Each swinging assembly consists of a coil receptacle, a shaft, a supporting stump, a spring, a tapper and an electromagnetic coil. A spring stretches between the coil receptacle and a stopper fixed to the case and biases the swinging assembly in one rotational direction such that the tapper is held aloft. The stopper limits the angle through which the swinging assembly pivots in the one rotational direction. When the electromagnetic coil receives a drive signal, magnetic interaction between the coil and the permanent magnets causes the swinging assembly to rotate about the shaft in the opposite rotational direction. This effect forces the tapper to swing downwardly against the elastic force of the spring and strike the sound producing body, thus producing a sound. However, the apparatus of the Nakada patent utilizes a complex electromagnetic drive and it would be difficult to utilize a control system that could manipulate the drive of the tapper to prevent dampening of the produced sound.
In an alternative design, mechanical linkages are driven by electric motors to cause a swinging arm or clapper to strike a sound producing body. However, in conventional designs there is direct contact between the mechanical linkages and the swinging arm at the moment the swinging arm strikes the sound producing body. With this arrangement, the swinging arm is not free to recoil immediately, which can lead to dampening of the sound produced. Thus, it is difficult for these toys to faithfully reproduce a desired melody.